memeorandum: Democrats Want to Run on Issues in 2020. But Does Beating Trump Matter Most? (Jonathan Martin/New York Times)

2:45 PM ET, January 14, 2019

Top Items:

CNN:

Transcripts detail how FBI debated whether Trump was ‘following directions’ of Russia — (CNN)In the chaotic aftermath at the FBI following Director James Comey's firing, a half-dozen senior FBI officials huddled to set in motion the momentous move to open an investigation into President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Shareblue Media, The Federalist, Fox News Insider, USA Today, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Law & Crime, Raw Story, The Atlantic, Washington Times, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Daily Wire, KTLA and Mediaite

Eric Tucker / Associated Press:

Trump's AG nominee: ‘Vitally important’ Mueller finish work — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general will tell senators at his confirmation hearing “it is vitally important” that special counsel Robert Mueller be allowed to complete his Russia investigation …

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

Trump's and Pompeo's weird non-denials about Trump working for Russia — Pompeo's may actually be more telling — especially now that Trump has denied it … It's been about 60 hours since it was first reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an inquiry into whether President Trump was working for Russia.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Guardian, POLITICUSUSA and Breitbart

Courier-Journal:

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is going to Canada for surgery — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, one of the fiercest political critics of socialized medicine, will travel to Canada later this month to get hernia surgery. — Paul, an ophthalmologist, said the operation is related to an injury in 2017 when his neighbor …

Discussion: Townhall, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Political Wire

Ruby Cramer / BuzzFeed News:

Bernie Sanders Will Meet With Former Female Staffers About 2016 Campaign Sexism And Harassment — Bernie Sanders will meet on Wednesday with women who have said they experienced sexual harassment and gender discrimination while working on his 2016 presidential campaign …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios and New York Times

Holly Otterbein / Politico:

Bernie Sanders staffs up for 2020 — Bernie Sanders is adding firepower to his political team ahead of a potential 2020 campaign, locking down digital alumni who were key to his surprise performance in 2016 and recruiting the media production company that helped launch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to prominence.

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Daily Caller

Michael Knowles / Fox News:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the voice of an ignorant generation

Discussion: twitchy.com

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

GOP's John Kasich is looking to join CNN or MSNBC amid speculation he could run for president in 2020 — Republican John Kasich, who is thinking about running for president in 2020, is likely to announce this week that he will join a major cable news network.

Discussion: Associated Press, Axios and Joe.My.God.

Joe Concha / The Hill:

Kasich expected to join CNN or MSNBC as early as this week: report — Former Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) may be joining a major cable news network as early as this week, according to CNBC. — The business news network, citing unidentified sources close to Kasich, reported Monday that he has …

John R. Kasich / USA Today: Republican Party is mired in the 1950s and ignores today's America at its peril

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:

Trump's DC Circuit Nominee — And Reported Supreme Court Contender — Wrote Inflammatory Op-Eds In College — WASHINGTON — Neomi Rao — President Donald Trump's pick for a powerful federal judgeship and a reported US Supreme Court contender — wrote a string of op-eds in college …

Discussion: Mother Jones

Katie Benner / New York Times:

Attorney General Nominee Promises to Allow Mueller to Finish His Work — WASHINGTON — William P. Barr, President Trump's nominee for attorney general, promised on Monday that he would allow the special counsel to continue his investigation, seeking to allay Democrats' fears that he might shut down the inquiry.

Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
Trump's AG nominee: Mueller should be allowed to finish work

Discussion: Politico, The Right Scoop and One America News Network

CNN: Attorney General nominee says Mueller should be allowed to finish report

Betsy Woodruff / The Daily Beast:

Kremlin Blessed Russia's NRA Operation, U.S. Intel Report Says — When Maria Butina and Alexander Torshin's brought NRA bigwigs to Moscow, it wasn't a rogue mission. It was okayed from the very top, according to a report reviewed by The Beast. — Betsy Woodruff

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Joe.My.God., Raw Story and The Week

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:

Pompeo: Trump Admin Will Help Iranian People Take ‘Control of Their Capital’ — SecState appeals to Iranian public to rein in expansionist Islamic regime — RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Following meetings with top Saudi Arabian leaders in the country's capital on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo …

New York Times:
Pentagon Officials Fear Bolton's Actions Increase Risk of Clash With Iran

Discussion: CNN, Observer, Washington Post, Axios, Daily Wire, Center for Security Policy, ThinkProgress, Splinter, The American Conservative, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, naked capitalism, The Guardian and Talking Points Memo

Nika Shakhnazarova / The Sun:

SPIDERS OF MARS Skin-crawling moment hundreds of spiders ‘rain’ from the sky in Brazil leaving terrified residents running for cover — The 14-year-old who filmed the incredible moment said it left him ‘stunned and scared’ as the arachnids floated in the air

Discussion: Mashable

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib photographed with pro-Hezbollah activist who says Israel has no right to exist — Freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was photographed with a Palestinian activist who praised the terrorist group Hezbollah, said Israel did not have the right to exist …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and twitchy.com

Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:

'A 10 isn't enough': This UCLA gymnast's flawless floor routine just broke the Internet — As the first strains of Tina Turner's “Proud Mary” filled the Anaheim Arena on Saturday, Katelyn Ohashi came alive. — As she executed a quick body roll with a giant smile plastered across her face …

Discussion: USA Today, abc7ny.com, Boing Boing and KTLA

Kelly Yamanouchi / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Hartsfield-Jackson security lines more than an hour long amid federal shutdown — Security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport stretched more than an hour long Monday morning, causing travelers to miss flights amid the partial federal shutdown.

Discussion: Politico

WSB-TV:
Atlanta passenger gets gun through TSA, alerts officials in Japan he still has it

Discussion: CNN, Hit & Run, Washington Post and CNBC

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:

Democrats' desire to subpoena interpreters in Trump, Putin meetings raises ethical questions — A bombshell Washington Post report that revealed over the weekend that President Trump had seized interpreter notes from a private meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin reignited Democrats' desire …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Atlantic and NB Blog

Tara Palmeri / ABC News:
Interpreter from Trump-Putin summit may be forced into congressional spotlight

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo and CNN

New York Times:

It's Time for T.S.A. Workers to Strike — The shutdown is painful, but it is also an opportunity for labor to take a stand. — Ms. Ehrenreich is the author of “Nickel and Dimed” and the founder of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. Mr. Stevenson is a former labor organizer.

Judith Kohler / Denver Post:

Big win for oil and gas industry: Colorado Supreme Court reverses Appeals Court ruling in Martinez case — Ruling says state regulators correct to balance development with public health, environmental impacts … In a big win for the oil and gas industry, the Colorado Supreme Court …

Rachael Bade / Politico:

Trump backs off national emergency with no end to shutdown in sight — President Donald Trump on Monday appeared to rule out — at least for now — declaring a national emergency to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, setting aside one of the White House's leading options for ending the 24-day partial government shutdown.

Discussion: Vox, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Political Wire and The Moderate Voice

David French / The Atlantic:

The Unmanning of Conservatism — In Trump's view of masculinity, cheap shots replace bravery and hostility replaces honor. — Donald Trump wants everyone to know that he's a tough guy. In 2017, the congressional candidate Greg Gianforte “body-slammed” the Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs …

Rick Noack / Washington Post:

U.S. ambassador in Berlin warns Germans about Russian gas pipeline, triggering applause elsewhere — American ire over German reliance on Russian natural gas imports shows no signs of letting up, and over the weekend, Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador in Berlin, issued a warning …

Discussion: Bloomberg

Meagan Flynn / Washington Post:

Compelled to work without pay, federal employees sue Trump, accusing him of violating 13th Amendment — A group of federal employees working without pay during the partial government shutdown are likening the predicament to involuntary servitude in a lawsuit filed last week …

Discussion: TheStreet

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Democrats Want to Run on Issues in 2020. But Does Beating Trump Matter Most? — WASHINGTON — Medicare for All. A federal jobs guarantee. The “Green New Deal.” No Super PAC money. No mass deportations. — And, of course, a candidate who can beat President Trump — right?

Discussion: Political Wire and Washington Post

Geoff Ziezulewicz / Navy Times:

Worse than you thought: inside the secret Fitzgerald probe the Navy doesn't want you to read — A scathing internal Navy probe into the 2017 collision that drowned seven sailors on the guided-missile destroyer Fitzgerald details a far longer list of problems plaguing the vessel …

Discussion: Task & Purpose

Hayley Miller / HuffPost:

Raj Shah Out As White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary — He joins the growing list of Trump administration officials to exit in recent months. — Raj Shah has left his role as White House principal deputy press secretary, becoming the latest of several Trump administration officials to depart in recent months.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Tulsi Gabbard once touted working for anti-gay group that backed conversion therapy — (CNN)Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in the early 2000s touted working for her father's anti-gay organization, which mobilized to pass a measure against same-sex marriage in Hawaii and promoted controversial conversion therapy.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, ABC News, Roll Call, IJR, Joe.My.God., Politico, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Splinter, Breitbart, Washington Post and LGBTQ Nation

Washington Examiner:

Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono deserve scorn for effort to establish an anti-Catholic religious test — Sen. Kamala Harris is running for president in a very crowded field. Maybe the need to distinguish herself drove her to take the lead on anti-Catholicism.

Bloomberg:

The Next American Car Recession Has Already Started — These should be boom times for Detroit. Unemployment is at a half-century low, gasoline is cheap and auto sales in the U.S. were near record levels last year. Yet American automakers are closing factories, cutting shifts and laying off thousands of workers.